NDP Parade Commander practises by shouting in car

SINGAPORE — Next time you’re at a traffic light, you may notice a man shouting by himself inside his car.

That’s probably this year’s National Day Parade Commander Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Alvin Tjioe practising his commands.

“For my own personal preparation, I just do it as and when I have the space. I’m driving and I’m stuck in traffic, I can start practising my commands,” LTC Tjioe said with a laugh.

LTC Tjioe said being selected to be parade commander on Singapore’s 50th year was “completely unexpected”. “Never have I ever thought of wanting to be a Parade Commander, much less be part of the SG50 parade.”

Even with 15 years of service in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), LTC Tjioe still tries not to think about any added pressure being in this year’s parade. “The most important part is to get the sequence correct, and to be able to give commands that are clear so that the participants can execute them very sharply.”

“To wait until Saturday rehearsals is not going to be sufficient, I can’t just take a break for the whole week and only revisit them in the next rehearsal,” he said.

“Nobody else can hear me when I’m in the car!”